Fabrication of poly(ε-caprolactone) porous scaffolds by immersion precipitation method

To prepare the poly( ε-caprolactone) (PCL) porous scaffolds whose structure and property could meet the needs of bone tissue engineering, a series of PCL porous scaffolds were prepared by means of the immersion precipitation method using acetic acid and acetone as the blend solvent, distilled water as the quenching bath and chitosan (CS) as the additives. The effects of solvent, PCL concentration and the amount of CS on the structure and property were studied. The results show that the addition of CS is beneficial for forming three-dimensionally porous scaffolds. With the CS amount increasing, the porosity decreases slightly while the ompressive strength improves. The porosity decreases obviously with the increasing of PCL mass fraction. When the content of acetone is 50 wt% ～60 wt% and the content of PCL is below 10 wt% , three-dimensionally porous PCL scaffolds with satisfying porosity and mechanical property could form by adjusting the amount of CS.